Injury to original opponent provides new nemesis for Rafael Natal at UFC 133

A knee injury brought on by a recent car accident has forced DEEP veteran Riki Fukuda out of a scheduled bout against Rafael Natal at UFC 133 though his absence from the event won’t prevent “Sapo” from stepping into the Octagon on August 6, as it appears a replacement has already been found.

According to a post on Natal’s Twitter account, 7-2 Constantinos Philippou will fill the vacancy created by Fukuda’s unfortunate circumstances in a situation where one man will likely obtain the first win of his UFC career and the other a release from the roster.

Philippou was outpointed by Nick Catone in his debut this past March at UFC 128 after winning seven straight outside of the organization. Four of his total wins have been the result of a TKO though his association with Matt Serra’s gym in New York implies he is skilled on the ground as well.

Comparably, Natal lost to Rich Attonito last September in his first UFC appearance and most recently fought to a draw against Jesse Bongfeldt at UFC 124. He holds an overall record of 12-3-1 including wins over Travis Lutter and Danillo Villefort.

UFC 133 is set for Philadelphia and will feature a headlining battle between top light heavyweight contenders Rashad Evans and Phil Davis , as well as notable pairings such as Rich Franklin vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Vitor Belfort vs. Yoshishiro Akiyama.